The Grand Chief Imam of Lagos, Sheik Sulaiman Abou-Nolla on Friday, kicked off the Eid-el-Kabir celebration by killing a ram at the Central Mosque, Nnamdi Azikwe St., Lagos Island.
Abou-Nolla, after the Eid Prayers and other religious rites, including killing of ram, called on Muslims and Nigerians to use the occasion to pray to God, to end the ravaging Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.
According to him, there is the need for Muslims to give thanks to Allah for saving them, especially in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging the world.
”We thank Allah for sparing our lives, especially on this great day. This is a remarkable day for us the Muslims, it is a day of sacrifice.
”It is a day Prophet Ibrahim sacrificed a ram in respect of his son, as Allah told him to do, which he commanded us to sacrifice to Allah.
”It is also a day in which Allah is telling us that we need to have faith, we should be able to withstand everything that has to do with the circumstances, any challenges,” the Chief Imam said.
Abou-Nolla also prayed for Allah’s continuous guidance and protection on the state Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu and his entire cabinet that had been at the forefront of the pandemic.
He noted that this was the time for Muslims to pray to Allah, to help resolve the issue of COVID-19, heal the land and protect everyone.
“Those that we have lost during this period too, we pray Allah to forgive their sins. We pray Allah to accept them as part of people of Jannah.
“We equally advise all Muslims that we need to follow the guidelines. It is important for us as Muslims, which Allah commanded us, that we need to follow Allah, follow the prophet and follow those in authority.
“Whatever guidelines they give to us in respect of hand washing, social distancing, sanitising our hands, we need to follow the guidelines.
“We need to be disciplined as a people; that is what can guide us as a nation. We need to be able to sacrifice, sacrifice for the nation.
“There is no success without sacrifice, so we need to sacrifice for our nation.
”We pray Almighty Allah to continue to guide us; we pray Almighty Allah to shower his blessings on us; we pray for all our leaders in Lagos, that Allah should be with us; that Allah should guide us and protect us,” he prayed.
The kick-off of the celebration was devoid of any gathering, in compliance with the COVID-19 safety guidelines.
